WEBVTT - What Do We Know (and Not Know) About Depression?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren vohglah bahm. Here, I wanted to let you know

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<v Speaker 1>at the top here that we're talking about mental health today,

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<v Speaker 1>So if you're not up for that, take care of yourself.

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<v Speaker 1>But okay, a we as a society don't talk enough

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<v Speaker 1>about mental health. It's totally normal for all of us

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<v Speaker 1>to find ourselves feeling down or worried sometimes with the

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<v Speaker 1>state of the world around us. I think it was

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<v Speaker 1>a little strange if you never did. But what about

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<v Speaker 1>if those feelings persist, grow to be overwhelming, maybe affect

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<v Speaker 1>your work or studies or relationships, or maybe make it

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<v Speaker 1>feel difficult to get anything done. That might be depression.

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<v Speaker 1>Just like any other health issue, depression can manifest differently

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<v Speaker 1>in each of us, varying in severity and symptoms, and

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<v Speaker 1>therefore solutions for it can vary too. Also, as with

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<v Speaker 1>many things about our weird and wondrous human bodies, researchers

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<v Speaker 1>aren't entirely sure how depression works. Today, let's talk about

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<v Speaker 1>what we do and don't know about this branch of

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<v Speaker 1>mental health. First off, depression is a broad term. Health

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<v Speaker 1>professionals can diagnose different flavors of depressive conditions based on

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<v Speaker 1>a person's age, when and how and how frequently symptoms appear,

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<v Speaker 1>and whether the person has any other mental or physical

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<v Speaker 1>health issues going on. The definition common to all of

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<v Speaker 1>these is a measure of sadness, emptiness, or irritability that

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<v Speaker 1>impedes your capacity to function. More specific symptoms can include

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<v Speaker 1>loss of interest and usual activities, a withdrawal from family

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<v Speaker 1>of friends, feelings of guilt, hopelessness, helplessness or worthlessness, changes

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<v Speaker 1>in sleeping habits like being unable to sleep or sleeping

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<v Speaker 1>too much, fatigue and lethargy or hyperactivity in restlessness, changes

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<v Speaker 1>in eating habits leading to weight loss or weight gain, indecision,

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<v Speaker 1>difficulty concentrating or forgetfulness, persistent pains that don't respond to treatment,

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<v Speaker 1>like headaches, stomach aches, or digestive problems, a worstening of

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<v Speaker 1>other conditions like arthritis or diabetes, and or thoughts or

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<v Speaker 1>actions towards self harm or death. That's a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>symptoms and a bunch of contradictory ones, and no two

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<v Speaker 1>people will have the same ones to the same levels

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<v Speaker 1>of severity. But if someone experiences five or more of

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<v Speaker 1>these symptoms for over two weeks that might be diagnosed

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<v Speaker 1>as major depressive disorder. If someone experiences just a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of them, but for a couple years running, that might

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<v Speaker 1>be what's called persistent depressive disorder. There are also specifications

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<v Speaker 1>that can help diagnose forms of depression in someone going

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<v Speaker 1>through prolonged grief, or someone who has particular trouble the

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<v Speaker 1>week before their menstrual cycle or during certain seasons of

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<v Speaker 1>the year, or someone with symptoms tied to another medical condition,

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<v Speaker 1>or a child or adolescent who's struggling. You can experience

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<v Speaker 1>depression once in a lifetime, brought on by a single

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<v Speaker 1>stressful event, or it can recur throughout your life. There

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<v Speaker 1>is no single cause for depression, though research does suggest

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<v Speaker 1>four factors from which it likely results, often in combination. Genetic, biochemical, psychological,

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<v Speaker 1>and environmental. Scientists haven't found a gene for depression, but

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<v Speaker 1>they have seen evidence based on family histories suggesting that

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<v Speaker 1>there may be a genetic link. Children of people with

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<v Speaker 1>major depressive disorder are more likely to experience depression than

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<v Speaker 1>the general population. Something in the way those children are

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<v Speaker 1>raised could have an influence, but research has shown that

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<v Speaker 1>social and family environmental factors are less important than genetic ones. However,

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<v Speaker 1>because depression also occurs in individuals without family histories of

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<v Speaker 1>the condition, we continue to study additional factors. Other research

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<v Speaker 1>with magnetic resonance imaging has revealed differences in the brains

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<v Speaker 1>of people with depressive conditions. People with depression have abnormal

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<v Speaker 1>levels of sub neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers between cells

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<v Speaker 1>and the brain, in between the nervous system and other

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<v Speaker 1>cells in the body. Having enough of these chemical messengers

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<v Speaker 1>helps us process and regulate our mood and memory and

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<v Speaker 1>behavior in complicated ways that we don't entirely understand yet.

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<v Speaker 1>Researchers have honed in on three in particular, serotonin, neuropinephrine,

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<v Speaker 1>and dopamine. Psychological factors also come into play. People with

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<v Speaker 1>certain characteristics such as pessimism and low self esteem have

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<v Speaker 1>a tendency to develop depression, and stressful happenings such as

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<v Speaker 1>relationship changes, illness, financial problems, or any major life event

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<v Speaker 1>like a move or a job change can trigger a

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<v Speaker 1>depressive event. Again, it's not straightforward or simple. The onset

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<v Speaker 1>of depression frequently occurs from a combination of these causes.

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<v Speaker 1>Depression is highly treatable, but one of the complications of

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<v Speaker 1>depression is that you don't always want to talk to anyone,

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<v Speaker 1>or that you feel guilty about feeling sad. Wrapped up

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<v Speaker 1>in all this, there's still some misplaced social stigma about

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<v Speaker 1>mental health, which is why I'm doing this episode. It's

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<v Speaker 1>just part of our health. There shouldn't be any shame

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<v Speaker 1>in it. The first step toward getting help is to

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<v Speaker 1>talk to a health professional. If you have a primary doctor,

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<v Speaker 1>a family doctor, or other medical caregiver who you trust,

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<v Speaker 1>they're a great place to start. Though, if you don't,

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<v Speaker 1>and there are lots of online services and local organizations

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<v Speaker 1>that are designed to get you on a path to

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<v Speaker 1>diagnosis and treatment. There's no easy test like a blood

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<v Speaker 1>panel or X ray. However, doctors may sometimes order lab

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<v Speaker 1>tests for things like thyroid or heart or brain conditions

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<v Speaker 1>to make sure that no more immediately serious physical disease

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<v Speaker 1>is causing depression type symptoms that would require its own treatment. Generally,

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<v Speaker 1>a health professional will ask you about your and your

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<v Speaker 1>family's medical history. Then they'll talk with you about your

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<v Speaker 1>physical and social and psychological symptoms and your mood, determining

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<v Speaker 1>what symptoms are present when they began, and your general

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<v Speaker 1>state of mind. They might use a written or spoken

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<v Speaker 1>diagnostic questionnaire. Researchers have come up with a bunch of

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<v Speaker 1>different ones that can quickly, easily and accurate lea score

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<v Speaker 1>how serious a person's symptoms are, since those symptoms can

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<v Speaker 1>be difficult to self report. Once you have a diagnosis,

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<v Speaker 1>there are lots of different treatment options because mental health

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<v Speaker 1>is highly individual, but what works for any given person

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<v Speaker 1>can vary. It can take some time to determine what

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<v Speaker 1>works for you, but over eighty percent of people who

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<v Speaker 1>are treated experience improvement. Effective and common treatments for major

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<v Speaker 1>and chronic depression are antidepressant medications to relieve symptoms, and

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<v Speaker 1>talk therapy to learn effective coping methods, or a combination

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<v Speaker 1>of the two. Antidepressant medications help to normalize levels of

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<v Speaker 1>those mood regulating neurotransmitter chemicals in the brain. The most

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<v Speaker 1>common medications these days because they tend to be pretty

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<v Speaker 1>effective and not have too many negative side effects, are

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<v Speaker 1>SSRIs that stands for selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Basically, they

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<v Speaker 1>work by preventing your body from reabsorbing a molecule of

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<v Speaker 1>serotonin after it's transmitted a message, so that serotonin molecule

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<v Speaker 1>can keep on keeping on in your brain. There are

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<v Speaker 1>other reuptake inhibitors for norbinephrin and dopamine and other antidepressants

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<v Speaker 1>that work in yet other ways. Type of medication may

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<v Speaker 1>work better than another from person to person, and sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>it takes a few tries to find one or a

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<v Speaker 1>combination that works well. Talk therapy, also known as psychotherapy,

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<v Speaker 1>can be used in conjunction with medication or solo. It

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<v Speaker 1>involves talking through symptoms, behaviors, and situations with a mental

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<v Speaker 1>health professional. There are two main types most common today.

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<v Speaker 1>Cognitive behavioral therapy or CBT is meant to teach you

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<v Speaker 1>new ways of thinking and behaving, and interpersonal therapy or

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<v Speaker 1>IPT is meant to help you understand and work on

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<v Speaker 1>personal relationships and social behaviors that may be contributing to

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<v Speaker 1>your depression. Just as with medication based treatments, can take

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<v Speaker 1>a few tries to find a talk therapist or a

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<v Speaker 1>course of therapy that works for you. For a science podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>all of this is infuriatingly inspecific, just whibbly wobbly, brainywhiney.

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<v Speaker 1>Lots more research is being done into the complex soup

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<v Speaker 1>of conditions that creates our mental health. Hopefully in the

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<v Speaker 1>future we'll have more precise answers. In the meanwhile, if

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<v Speaker 1>you're worried about yourself for a loved one, please remember

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<v Speaker 1>that even with everything we don't know, depression is real

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<v Speaker 1>and clinical and highly treatable. It can get better, and

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<v Speaker 1>there is nothing wrong needing a little help. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>is based on the article how Depression Works on how

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<v Speaker 1>stuffworks dot Com, written by Maria Tremarky. Brain Stuff is

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<v Speaker 1>production by Heart Radio in partnership with how stuffworks dot

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<v Speaker 1>Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from my heart Radio. Visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.